Police in St. Thomas are urging parents to speak to their children about the dangers of sending nude photos of themselves over social media after a 13-year-old was encouraged to do so by a stranger.
Police were called to a city home after a teenage girl received the request on Tuesday.
"It was disclosed to the officers that some of the girl's friends had been receiving the same request," says Constable Jeff De Leeuw. "We are looking into it further and are trying to get to the bottom of it."
Police say a fake name was used on the social media account the request came from.
While the issue of teens sending nude photos of themselves online is prevalent in high school, Constable De Leeuw says the age of the latest group to be targeted is concerning.
"The age is definitely a factor here and we really want to encourage parents to get involved in their childrens social media lives," says Constable De Leeuw. "Parents need to know what their children are doing online and have access to their passwords. Should the child get involved with somebody who they believe is their own age but really they're not can pose a bit of a risk for the child."
